Maternal Knowledge and Practices Related to Childhood Diarrhea at A Tertiary Care Hospital In District Mardan

Abstract

OBJECTIVES To assess the mother’s knowledge, and practices regarding the prevention and home-based management of diarrhea in their children. METHODOLOGY This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 271 mothers, using convenient sampling technique. The study population was mothers of under-five year age children recruited from a tertiary care hospital in Mardan. Data were collected through questionnaire and analyzed through SPSS version 24. The study was approved from the institute and data collection permission was granted by the hospital administration. Written consents were obtained from the participants.RESULTS The majority (59.4%) of the participants were from the age group of 30 to 40 years. Most (82.7%) of the participants were house wives where 61.3% of them were illiterate. The majority (75%) of the mothers reported average Knowledge, followed by Good (17%) and Poor Knowledge (8%). The major part (74%) of the participants was reported to have satisfactory practices regarding diarrhea prevention and management while 26% of the mothers reported unsatisfactory practices.CONCLUSION It was concluded from the study findings that parents had average knowledge and satisfactory practices regarding diarrhea among children. Efforts are required to further enhance mothers’ knowledge and improve their practices regarding diarrhea and its management among children.